This application claims priority from Japanese patent application number 2000-104053, filed Apr. 05, 2000, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to an input pen for a touch panel serving as input means with respect to a touch panel for use in a computer or the like, and to an input pen.
In information processors such as a personal computer, a word processor, various portable information terminals and a CAD/CAM work station, there is well known high usage of a keyboard or a mouse as input means for inputting characters, operation information, and the like. On the other hand, there is used a touch panel display (hereinafter also referred to as xe2x80x9ca touch panelxe2x80x9d), in which operation information can be input or graphics, pictures or characters can be drawn by making a touch on the display of an information processor.
Such touch panels include an electrostatic type and a pressure-sensitive type which are classified according to a method for detecting an input position on a screen of the touch panel. An input pen formed into a pen-like shape is used as input means for inputting information with respect to the touch panel.
In the case of an electrostatic type touch panel, there is used an input pen for outputting a magnetic field from a pen tip by electromagnetism or the like. Information on a position input by the input pen with respect to the screen of the touch panel is detected by detecting the magnetic field output from the input pen on an electrostatic type panel provided on a side of the touch panel. In the touch panel of this type, inputting can be performed even in the case where the pen tip is not always brought into direct contact with the screen of the touch panel.
In the meantime, in the case of a touch panel of the pressure-sensitive type, a display is provided with a pressure-sensitive panel, and a contact position is detected by a direct touch of the tip of the input pen on a screen of the touch panel.
In the above-described input pen for the touch panel, there has conventionally arisen a problem that the direct touch of the tip of the input pen on the screen of the touch panel causes flaws in the screen of the touch panel or damages on a protective film constituting the touch panel, the panel or the like. This problem arises when a user presses the tip of the input pen against the screen of the touch panel even in the case of the input pen of the electrostatic type which need not always make a direct touch on the screen of the touch panel.
In addition, a portion indicated by the input pen can be visually confirmed with more ease as the tip of the input pen is finer. However, as the tip of the input pen becomes finer, the screen of the touch panel is more liable to be flawed.
Furthermore, in addition to the above-described problem, the input pen requires a good using feeling during operation: namely, the input pen can be smoothly moved on the screen of the touch panel without any slippage on the screen of the touch panel or any difficulty in moving.
In order to solve the above-described problems, there has been conventionally proposed, for example, the technique in which a pen tip is provided with a ball made of a material having a high friction coefficient, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 61-99238 and Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 5-197487; or the technique in which a ball is supported by a bearing, as disclosed in Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 11-143620. However, the current situation is that the above-described problems cannot be completely solved.
The present invention has been accomplished in an attempt to solve the above-described technical problems experienced by the prior art. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an input pen for a touch panel excellent in a using feeling without causing any flaw in the touch panel, and an input pen.
With the above-described object, a study by inventors has revealed that a screen of a touch panel can be prevented from being flawed if a pen tip is made of a resin or the like. Furthermore, the pen tip is constituted of a rotatable ball in order to smoothly move an input pen on the screen of the touch panel. That is, the ball of the pen tip is made of a resin or the like. At this time, it is preferable that the ball should be made of a resin as soft as possible in order to make the screen of the touch panel difficult to be flawed. In this way, it seemed that the above-described problems could have been solved. However, a further study has revealed that when the input pen is pressed against the screen of the touch panel, the soft ball is deformed by the pressing force, so that the ball cannot be smoothly rotated.
From these studies, an input pen for a touch panel according to the present invention proposed by the present inventors comprises: a touch ball, which is made of a resin and is disposed at the tip end of the input pen; and a bearing ball, which is interposed between the touch ball and a main body of the input pen, for rotatably supporting the touch ball, and is harder than the touch ball. In the input pen for a touch panel according to the present invention, desired inputting such as drawing can be carried out by rolling the touch ball on the touch panel. Since the touch ball is made of a resin, it is possible to prevent the screen of the touch panel from being flawed. Only the use of the touch ball made of a resin may make smooth rotation of the touch ball difficult because the touch ball is deformed when the input pen is pressed against the touch panel. However, the provision of the bearing ball harder than the touch ball can allow the touch ball to be smoothly rotated.
Moreover, the input pen for the touch panel according to the present invention is provided a resilient member interposed between the bearing ball and the input pen. Consequently, when the pressing force acting on the touch ball is increased by pressing the input pen, the pressing force can be absorbed by the resilient member, thereby suppressing the deformation of the touch ball.
Furthermore, the input pen for the touch panel according to the present invention comprises: a touch ball rotatably held at the tip end of the input pen; and a resilient member for allowing the touch ball to be shifted along an axial direction of the input pen, wherein a resilient constant of the resilient member is set in such a manner that a shift of the touch ball is greater than a deformation of the touch ball when the input pen is pressed in the axial direction. With this configuration, the displacement of the resilient member becomes greater than the deformation of the touch ball when the pressing force for pressing the input pen in the axial direction of the input pen is increased, so that the touch ball can be smoothly rotated while the deformation of the touch ball can be suppressed by the difference.
Additionally, the input pen for the touch panel according to the present invention is provided with a holder which is movable along the axial direction of the input pen and has an opening at the tip end thereof, wherein the holder contains therein the touch ball in the state in which a part of the touch ball is exposed to the opening; and the resilient member includes a first resilient member for pressing the holder toward the tip end of the input pen and a second resilient member for pressing the touch ball toward the opening, wherein a resilient constant of the first resilient member is smaller than that of the second resilient member. With this configuration, the holder containing the touch ball therein is greatly displaced since the first resilient member is more greatly displaced than the second resilient member when the pressing force for pressing the input pen to act on the pen tip is increased, so that the displacement of the touch ball in the holder can be suppressed by the difference. Consequently, it is possible to make it difficult that the touch ball is embedded in the holder from the opening of the holder.
Furthermore, in the input pen for the touch panel according to the present invention, the touch ball is softer than a screen of a touch panel to be input. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the screen of the touch panel from being flawed by the touch ball. Even the soft touch ball can be suppressed from being deformed when the input pen is pressed in the axial direction, so that the touch ball can be smoothly rotated. The touch ball is preferably made of a material such as a soft resin, for example, acetal resins, or rubber.
An input pen according to the present invention comprises: an input pen body to be grasped by an input operator; a rolling member which is disposed at the tip end of the input pen body and rolls on a screen to be input so as to carry out inputting; and deformation suppressing means for suppressing a deformation of the rolling member when the input pen is pressed against the screen to be input. In the input pen, the deformation suppressing means can suppress the deformation of the rolling member when the input pen is pressed against the screen to be input to increase pressing force acting on the rolling member at the pen tip. Consequently, the rolling member can be smoothly rolled, thereby achieving an excellent operating feeling of the input pen. As the rolling member or the deformation suppressing means may be used any type which fulfills a predetermined function.
Moreover, in the input pen according to the present invention, the rolling member is rotatably supported, and there is provided friction reducing means for reducing frictional resistance with the input pen body during the rotation. Consequently, the rolling member can be smoothly rolled, thus making the above-described effect more prominent. As the friction reducing means may be used a ball bearing or the like in addition to the bearing ball.
Otherwise, the input pen for the touch panel according to the present invention comprises: a pen body of the input pen for a touch panel; a holder which is movably disposed in an axial direction of the pen body and has an opening at the tip end; first pressing means for pressing the holder toward the tip end of the pen body; a touch ball which is rotatably contained in the holder in such a manner that a part thereof is exposed to the opening and rolls on the touch panel; and second pressing means for pressing the touch ball toward the tip end inside the holder. In this type of input pen for the touch panel, the holder and the touch ball are normally pressed by the first and second pressers, and thus, are located at predetermined positions. When the input pen for the touch panel is pressed against the touch panel to increase the pressing force acting on the touch ball, the holder is moved over the pressing force of the first pressing means, and simultaneously, the touch ball is moved inside the holder over the pressing force of the second pressing means. These movements of the holder and the touch ball deform the first and second pressers. The pressing force acting on the touch ball can be alleviated by energy consumption at the time of the deformation. Consequently, it is possible to prevent any deformation of the touch ball so as to achieve the smooth rolling of the touch ball.
Additionally, in the input pen for the touch panel according to the present invention, a guide member movable in the axial direction of the pen body is interposed between the touch ball and the second pressing means, wherein a moving stroke of the guide member is set in such a manner that at least a part of the touch ball always projects outward of the opening of the holder. The guide member can prevent the touch ball from being embedded in the holder.
Moreover, a bearing ball harder than the touch ball is rotatably held by the guide member; and the touch ball is rotatably held inside the holder via the bearing ball. Consequently, the touch ball can be smoothly rotated. Furthermore, the bearing ball has a diameter smaller than that of the touch ball, thereby contributing to miniaturization of the pen tip.